The houses at 943 and 945
Camp Street are some of the few remaining examples in Indianapolis of a
house type called the "shotgun house." The shotgun house is an
African-American cultural architectural form believed to have originated in
the American
South. There are many examples of shotgun houses that can still be
found throughout the U.S. today, especially in New Orleans and throughout
Alabama. Typical shotgun houses have two to three rooms and are very
long and narrow, with a porch and entrance facing the street. It is
often claimed that the shotgun house was so-named because a shot fired from
the front door would exit out the back door without ever going through a
wall. This is often inaccurate since the doors of successive rooms in
shotgun houses do not always line up. Some now contend that the name
actually comes from an
altered form of "togun," which is the African Yoruba word for "house."
Throughout their histories these houses have
had a number of different residents. In 1880, the houses at 943 and 945
were numbered 85 and 89, respectively. The By 1900, the address of the houses had changed to 921 and 923 Camp. 921 was occupied by Kentucky born Henry Robinson and his wife Florence. Henry was African-American and worked as a hod carrier. A hod carrier was someone who carried loads of bricks, mortar, or other supplies to bricklayers, cement finishers, or plasterers on the job. Next door in 923 lived James Pitman and his family. Pitman was a 60 year old Arkansas born African-American who worked as a day laborer. He lived with his wife of 40 years, Elizabeth, and John W. Jones who was a boarder working as an expressman. Again in 1910, the residents
of both houses had changed from the previous
1920 found yet new families living in the houses; by this time they had been given their current street addresses of 943 and 945 Camp. 943 Camp was the home of the young African-American family of 24 year old Lee Bess. Bess was Indiana born and worked as a porter for an Indianapolis jewelry store. He lived with his wife Venus and his two young sons, Lee Jr. and Milton. A 40 year old African-American widow, Carrie Taylor, lived at 945. She worked as a matron for a shoe store. Her son, Charles Etter, worked as a government mail carrier and also lived with her. In 1940, Mrs. Cynthia Senour
is recorded as the head of the house at 945. Since Cynthia's maiden name
was Sims, it is likely that she was a widow. Cynthia's Both John and Doris Cowherd
worked at the Flanner House. John
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head of the household at 85 Camp was Mississippi born Lee Morris, a 31 year
old White Market Master. He lived with his 19 year old wife Sallie and
infant son Clifford. Little is known about the residents at 89 Camp except
their names: Edward Sherer, his wife Ada, and son Harry.
census. At 921
lived a single African-American man named George T. Johnson. Johnson
was a 33 year old divorcee and an engineer working with factory machinery. At
923 Camp was the family of William Lamb, a 31 year old African-American born
in Kentucky. William worked as a driver for an ice company. Also at the
house was William's wife Mary, their son
sister Doris was married to John Cowherd, who from 1930-1950 was listed as
the head of house next door at 947 Camp. By 1955, the Cowherds had moved
into the second shotgun at 943. Since the Senour family was relatively
small, no major renovations were undertaken at the 943 house except to
remove a part of the kitchen in order to install a bathroom after plumbing
moved indoors. The Cowherd family, on the other hand, was rather large and
this necessitated new rooms to be added to the house. A cellar for central
heating and a front porch were also added. Both houses still look very
similar today, although they have been repainted.
was a custodian and
Doris was a cook for the Nursery and a caterer. She also worked in the cannery
and taught cooking classes. Cynthia worked as a cook both for a private
family and for the Flanner House. Doris continued to live in the house even
after the death of her husband in 1964. In 1966, she moved to the
Irvington area where she continued to involve herself in community service. To
honor her contributions, the City of Indianapolis named a neighborhood park,
located at 4050 N. Irvington Avenue, in her honor. Cynthia is recorded as
living in the 945 house up until 1985.